Saucers



Aug. A20, 1957 D. F. wuERFEL sAucERs Filed March 16, 1'956 A JNVENTUR. Bilk/M757' W218i? ..7

Unite This invention relates to improvements in saucers, and refers particularly to saucers provided with means for ready attachment to or detachment from plates.

It is a common practice at various functions, such as buiet suppers, to hand a guest a plate and a cup and saucer which together require both hands to hold them. Consequently when the guest is either helping him-self to food or while eating he has to iind a suitable resting place for the cup and saucer, and too most people nd it safest to temporarily deposit the plate while drinking. It is an object of this invention to provide a saucer having means thereon for ready attachment to a plate so that when mounted upon the latter it is held immovable relative to the plate and as a result only one hand is required to hold both the plate and the saucer.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a saucer wherein its mounting means are so constructed and arranged that not only may it be attached to either a rimmed or a flanged plate, but so that in either case its cup supporting surface rests parallel with the at surface of the plate.

Further objects of the invention are, among other things, to provide a saucer including: a flange projecting radially therefrom in which a pin is rotatably mounted and has outwardly projecting lingers the extremities of which are formed to engage the rim of a plate; resilient gripping members on the extremities of the lingers for engagement with the plate and also to protect the latter against chipping particularly during attachment or removal of the saucer; and resilient means projecting from the flange for engaging the upper surface of the plate adjacent its periphery to insure that the saucer bears iirmly upon the upper surface of the plate.

Having thus stated some of the objects and advantages of the invention I will now describe it in detail with the aid of the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing a portion of a conventional plate of the rimmed type on which the invention is mounted, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a plan View of a slightly modied form of the invention mounted on a conventional plate having a peripheral flange, and

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing, my saucer includes a circular dished body 1 having downwardly extending feet 2, which, in the present instance, are integral with and extend from the periphery of the body. Moreover these feet are preferably so formed that they are somewhat resilient. Projecting also from the periphery of the body 1 is a radial flange 3 having a bearing 4 formed across its outer margin at right angles to an imaginary line radial to the axis of the body and extending through the ange centrally of its width. Extending radially outward' from the bearing 4 centrally of its width is a leaf spring 5 which in the present instance is integral with the ange 3 and is made somewhat thinner than the latter so that it is of the desired strength. Extending through the bearing 4 is a pin 6 the opposite extremities of which form outwardly projecting iingers 7. The outer extremities of these lingers are downwardly and inwardly folded upon themselves to form hooks 8 the undersides of which are usually covered by suitable protective guards 9 made of rubber or `other preferred resilient material. It may Sttes Patent O ice also be noted that the hooks themselves are usually also somewhat resilient. Y

In Figures 1 and 2 a denotes a plate having a conventional upwardly curved rim b. The feet 2 of the saucer, which, as previously stated, are preferably somewhat resilient, are retained in contact with the at upper surface of the plate by the spring 5 and the guards 9 which engage the upper and lower surfaces, respectively, of the rim b so that when the saucer is mounted in position it is securely and immovably held upon the plate. A conventional circular depression 10 is formed centrally in the upper face of the body 1 to retain a cup (not shown) against lateral movement thereon.

In the modification shown in Figures 3 and 4 upwardly and outwardly stepped annular cup retaining depressions 11 are formed concentrically around the circular depression 10, thereby providing seats for retaining clips having bases of dilerent sizes against lateral movement thereon. Again in Figures 3 and 4 it will be seen that the plate c is of the type having an annular ange d around its periphery rather than an upwardly and outwardly curved rim b as shown in Figures l and 2. Thus it is apparent that my saucer is equally applicable to either of these two conventional forms of plates.

While in the foregoing the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and shown, it is understood that alterations and modiiications may be made thereto Vprovided the said alterations and modications l fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A saucer including a dished body adapted to rest upon a plate and having a depression therein to support the base of a cup, a flange projecting laterally from the body, and spaced fingers pivoted on the iiange and extending therefrom to engage the peripheral margin of the plate.

2. A saucer including a dished body adapted to rest upon a plate and having at least one depression formed therein, a flange projecting laterally from the body and having an integral bearing, a pin rotatably mounted in the bearing and having fingers on its extremities to engage the periphery of the plate, and a spring extending from the ange to bear against the upper surface of the plate adjacent its periphery.

3. A saucer including a dished body having feet thereon adapted to rest upon a plate, said body having at least one central depression therein to support the base of a cup, a flange projecting radially from the body, a bearing formed across the flange so that its axis extends at right angles to an imaginary line extending from the body axis through the ilange centrally of its width, a pin rotatably mounted in the bearing, the extremities of the pin being bent substantially radially outward and having hooks formed thereon each to engage the periphery of the plate, and a spring extending from the ilange to bear against the upper surface of the plate adjacent its periph-4 ery.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 556,200 McDonald Mar. 10, 1896 704,139 Stadelman July 8, 1902 1,063,321 Blackwell June 3, 1913 1,123,793 Pick Jan. 5, 1915 1,996,856 Crane Apr. 9, 1935 2,042,801 Pittman June 2, 1936 2,427,697 Weidler Sept. 23, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 361,975 Great Britain Nov. 30. 1931 1,000,425 France Oct. 10, 1951 

